Chapter 3.02

Buffy woke a couple of hours later, thankful that the sky was still dark overhead and unaware how much of the night still remained. She shifted slightly and was rewarded by a twitch of Spike’s rapidly swelling cock inside her. She knew he was still asleep though. Although he didn’t need to, as soon as he was awake he began breathing whether by instinct or a trick he had picked up over the years to make his vampiric nature that little bit harder to spot. Either way, it was now so much second nature that if his chest wasn’t moving he was asleep.

She was torn between awakening him gently, possibly initiating another bout of lovemaking and yelling his head off for falling asleep in the open like that. In the end, she couldn’t resist the urge to start moving up and down over him. Her hands and mouth explored the muscles in his chest, arms and abdomen, tracing their sharply defined lines. Gentle caresses and movement failed to wake him though he moaned in his sleep. She bit down on his left nipple and was rewarded by that hitch of his chest as he pulled in his first breath of the day.

"Bloody hell, woman." Spike’s eyes flashed open and he met her gaze as she pulled on his nipple with her teeth, her hips still moving in a steady rhythm. "I hope you plan to wake me up like this every morning."

"That depends on whether you manage to get yourself cremated, falling asleep in the open. It’d be hard to do this…" Reaching behind her she took his scrotum into her hand, cupping his balls and then squeezing them till he gasped. "…to a big pile of dust."

"Do I get the impression you’re a bit annoyed with me, my little dove?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

"It’s okay, love. We’ve only been asleep for an hour or two. There’s at least another couple of hours before dawn."

"At least I won’t need to stop what I’m doing in the middle and rush you back to the car, then." Buffy used her slayer strength to squeeze him tight inside her. "But I might stop anyway just to teach you a lesson for scaring me." She froze in place, only to find herself rolled onto her back with her lover leaning over her.

"But do you want to miss out on this?" He nibbled on her earlobe. "Or this?" His fingers teased her nipples, flicking them and rolling them. "Or this?" He slid a hand down her body, coming to rest at the juncture of her thighs and rubbing her clit and then squeezing it hard.

Buffy gasped at the last, but was undeterred. They did missionary last time, no way they were getting that predictable this soon. "Not convinced," she answered and immediately regretted it as he pulled back out withdrawing completely.

He worked his way down her body, pausing to nibble at his mark before taking a winding path all around her right nipple, despite her attempts to shift so that he would take it into his mouth. Then over to her left, this time moving immediately to the sensitive flesh suckling and teasing the bullet hard tip with his teeth before trailing kisses down the side of her ribs. His tongue left a narrow diagonal trail from the bottom of her ribs on one side to her hipbone on the other pausing to circle her navel. He sucked on her hipbone hard enough to leave a hickey before his tongue traced the salty crease between her leg and her stomach.

Buffy sighed in anticipation and her legs spread wide as she felt his tongue probe her lips spreading them open, working from her sopping opening up to the sensitive bundle of nerves. He used a variety of techniques returning often to those that made his woman moan or thrash underneath him or pull at his hair to bring him closer. He swiftly pulled the rings from his left hand and slid first two then three fingers inside her curving them slightly as he drove them in and out so that they rubbed against that sweet spot inside. He waited until she was on the verge of climax and then stilled all his motion.

"Convinced yet?"

"Convinced… Ple-ease, Spike…" The slayer’s reply was little more than a moan, but it was enough. Spike resumed his ministrations, his eyes intent on her face as he brought her again to the point of orgasm, this time biting down on her clit to finally push her over. As the last flutterings were dying away, he pulled himself back up her body and thrust inside her, Before he could get a rhythm going he was rolled over once more onto his back, finding himself back in a similar position to when he woke up.

"My turn to drive," Buffy insisted. Her legs were still shaking, but not so much that she couldn’t manage this. She started with a slow rhythm, raising and lowering herself with an obvious effort on trembling legs, but as the last tremors died away she decided on another plan. She lowered herself hard and fast one last time, grinding against him till she felt his curls against her lips, till every possible millimetre was inside her. She concentrated on the muscles that surrounded him, imagining first that the muscles nearest the base of his dick were clamping around him like a ring, then she visualised the effect rippling upwards through her inner muscles until she held him tight all over. She held herself like that for a fraction of a second and then relaxed.

Opening eyes she hadn’t realised that she’d closed, she looked down onto her lover’s face. "Spike, could you feel that?" she asked shyly.

The normally verbose vampire merely nodded his assent.

"Good?" she asked.

Another nod.

"Better than…?" She raised herself once more until only his tip remained inside her and again lowered herself hard onto him, taking in every last bit of him.

Spike gasped for breath for a second before he replied. "Different."

"Okay, I’m going to practice for a bit. If you want me to try it faster or slower, tell me."

"C’m’ere first, pet," he said, his voice thick and low.

She obliged him, leaning forward into his embrace. His mouth claimed hers in a sensual kiss and his arms held her to him. She felt as if she were wrapped in a cocoon of love; his arms were a safe haven she never wanted to leave. So she didn’t. She eventually pulled away from his kiss letting her cheek rest against his. She knew she couldn’t retain the required level of concentration whilst he was kissing her.

Spike let himself relax completely, for once not trying to hold off his own completion knowing that that alone was Buffy’s aim. She was making it all about him, and somehow he loved her just that little bit more because of it.

She began again, repeating her previous actions again and again, envisaging her muscles milking his smooth firm cock. Gradually she became more sure of what she was doing and was able to go slightly faster. All the time Spike provided whispers of encouragement, letting her know the effect she was having on him. Spike didn’t hold back his demon when it tried to emerge instead he just nuzzled against Buffy’s neck, finding the spot where his mark was and biting down on it so softly even his sharp demon teeth failed to break the skin. He ensured his teeth were aligned with the previous marks.

As his semen spilled deep inside her he pushed down hard enough for just his fangs to pierce the healing scar tissue. He sucked at the fresh wounds until he felt her come, her muscles fluttering around him as she fastened her teeth on his neck and bit down not quite hard enough to break the skin. As she stilled he licked her wound clean and reaffirmed his claim.

"Mine," he growled, his face still in demon form.

"Yours," she confirmed. "Forever."

As he changed back to human form, he pulled her even tighter against him, so that she wouldn’t see the glitter in his eyes that betrayed his disappointment. He could tell that she had wanted to make her own claim, and though he knew she had made the right choice in waiting a large part of him was grieved by the delay. He didn’t see that same look of disappointment on her own face.

After they had lain together for several minutes Buffy moved against him kissing the spot where she had bitten him earlier. "Still time for that swim?" she asked.

"Sure, love, provided we don’t get distracted again," he relaxed his hold allowing her to sit up and climb off him.

Glancing down as she reached her feet, she couldn’t help but smirk. Spike wasn’t slow to pick up on the look and man enough to be paranoid about the direction she’d been looking in. "What’s so funny, pet?"

"You. Do you ever keep your mind off sex long enough for that thing to go down completely? I thought men were supposed to have some sort of recovery time."

"‘S not like my blood supply’s got anywhere else to go, and yeah, there are occasions when you’re not around or we’re both fully clothed when it behaves. Are you complainin’?"

"No, just amazed …and flattered." She took his hand and led him down to the water.

She soon discovered that his movement was as graceful in the water as out of it. Powerful muscles pulled his svelte frame through the waves with ease and efficiency. For a while they raced each other, just floating next to each other while she regained her breath afterwards. They fooled around splashing each other and playing tag, but after a while he was still raring to go while she felt more like floating and vegging out. She smirked to herself as she remembered that there had briefly been some spin-off series to Baywatch called Baywatch Nights. If they’d used footage like what she was watching now, then the female viewers would have been enough to stop it getting cancelled.

Suddenly with a flash of his milk-white rear he jack-knifed under the waves. Buffy stopped swimming, regaining her footing on the sand and scanned the water around her. That part of her vampire radar attuned specifically to him told her he was coming closer all the time. She knew he wouldn’t approach from the direction she’d last seen him but didn’t know which way he would choose. It was dark enough that she still failed to pin down the direction he approached from, but when his arms wrapped round her and held her tight rather than ducking her beneath the waves she didn’t care. She just relaxed and luxuriated in the feel of his wet body against hers as the waves crashed against them.

She felt like she’d been an idiot refusing to go out with Spike for so long, but then she’d thought his idea of a date would be taking her with him when he went to play poker, or letting her watch while he played pool at the Bronze. She hadn’t thought he would take her swimming or dance with her or anything she would enjoy.

"Spike, do you know how to skate?"

"Yeah, not that I’ve done it in… quite a while. Could be a bit rusty. Why do you ask?"

"’Cause you owe me an ice-skating date." She said it as if it were an obvious fact of life.

"Huh? You’ve lost me on that one, love."

"He Who Shall Not etc. was supposed to go ice-skating with me, only the guy from the Order of Taraka showed up about the same time he did. Killed guy. Found ring. Date wigged out. No rain check. You owe me a date."

"Guess I do, then. I’ll see what I can arrange when we get back home. Any other important events I’ve caused you to miss over the years?" he asked. Even with her back to him she could tell he was smiling.

"I’m sure I’ll think of some. That’s the only one with him. Apart from the Bronze and one trip to the cinema, that was the only time we went anywhere."

Spike snorted. "And I bet he met you inside when you went to the Bronze."

"Well, yeah, but…"

She could tell he was shaking his head slightly even though she couldn’t see it, so she turned in his arms to face him.

"What?" she asked impatiently.

"This guy was your big first love?

Sounds to me like you were alone at the ice rink, if that’s where you took out Cyclops. Guess you broke in? He lets you pay your own cover charge for the club and if he paid for your cinema ticket I bet it was some arty farty foreign film you wouldn’t have chosen to go and see in a month of Sundays. Even with a soul he’ll still pinch every penny till it squeaks. Did he ever pay for you both to go out and do something you wanted to do? Take you for a meal? Anything?"

"No, guess not," she replied, wondering who she was more annoyed at; Spike for pointing it out and being chauvinist enough to assume the man should pay, Angel for never taking her anywhere or herself for never noticing.

"All water under the bridge now anyway, love. If you want to have time to eat and not have to rush back to the car after, we’d best go in now."

"Okay. Let’s go see what your idea of a picnic is."

By the time they walked back to where they had left their clothes Buffy was shivering. Despite her protests about leaving salt marks where her hair was dripping he wrapped her damp form in his duster. He somehow managed to get his jeans on despite being damp. She helped as he unpacked the cooler. For someone who didn’t have to eat he seemed to know more about picnics than Riley.

There were two tubs, obviously from some sort of salad bar, one with fruit salad, the other a pasta salad. As well as a couple of cans of diet soda there were two half-size bottles of wine, one white, one red. He’d picked up four pre-packed sandwiches in a variety of fillings, two in crusty white rolls and two made with granary bread. There was a packet of tortilla chips and a small tub of salsa. The finishing touch was the two fresh cream chocolate eclairs. He’d even packed paper plates and plastic tumblers and cutlery, even serviettes.

"I didn’t think I was hungry until I saw this lot," Buffy commented.

"You should be. The only thing you’ve eaten since whatever you had for breakfast yesterday was half a pizza and that was nearly ten hours ago," Spike retorted.

"I guess when you put it like that…"

Between the two of them they managed to go through about three-quarters of the contents of the cooler before they gave up. This was despite Spike’s refusal to touch anything healthy and Buffy making Spike look the other way before she would eat her chocolate éclair, insisting that they didn’t have time for him to start getting ideas. "As if," he said, "wearing nothing but my coat wasn’t giving me ideas already."

Spike threw the leftovers back into the cooler and grabbed his T-shirt, quickly pulling it over his head. Ten minutes and two menthol cigarettes later the couple were winding their way back to the car.

"So what have you got planned now?" Buffy looked over at platinum blond. "Any more unexpected detours?"

"Nope. Just motel, shower, crash." As she more than half expected a wicked grin was flashed in her direction when he mentioned showering.

"So where does the phone call come in, that you mentioned earlier?"

"That would be on your to-do list for tomorrow," the vampire replied.

"And what exactly is on my to-do list for tomorrow?"

"Ring Bit before she goes to school. Have fun. Pick up some money for me. Put some of it in that account you have for the wedding. Give some to the cheerleader to get some stuff for the kid. Dump enough into your current account to make sure you’re solvent and up to date on your bills for at least the next month and bring the rest back for me. Be back early enough that we get home to eat with Bit tomorrow night, barring emergencies."

"And what’s on your to-do list for tomorrow?" Buffy asked, somewhat perturbed by the apparent length of hers.

"Speak to Bit. Hide from the sun. Drive milady home when she’s ready."

"Sounds like you’ve got the easier deal," she accused.

"True, but easier isn’t always better," agreed her fiancé.

"Do I get the car?" Buffy asked.

The muscles in Spike’s jaw clenched up at the thought of Buffy driving his baby again, but he was brave. LA just wasn’t a city where you could get around without a car. "Sure, love, long as you make sure you both come back in one piece. I’d say see if the Princess wanted to go with you and get her to drive, but I suspect she’ll be glued to Peaches till the prodigal comes home. And I don’t care if you do find a flaky patch on the windshield, don’t pick at it. It isn’t nail polish."

"Anything else or do I have to sign some contract in my own blood first? I hate to think what you’d be like about a new car. I bet you don’t even own that thing anyway."

"Do you? And if I’d stolen it, why wouldn’t I have just stolen another newer one whenever I felt like it?"

"You mean you actually bought that… it’s a bit old." In deference to Spike’s feelings she shied away from the word, "wreck".

"Didn’t say I bought it. Won it brand new in a poker game from a guy who owned a dealership. And it may be old but it’s probably been in storage for more than half its life, so be nice." Spike defended the vintage vehicle.

"Yeah, but you hardly qualify in the "one careful owner" category."

"Just so long as you’re careful. I might be upset if something happened to the car. It’d break me if something happened to you… And you wouldn’t want me to be forced to ask Harris to come to our rescue."

Chapter 3.03

Buffy pressed her cheek against the cool tile, letting the wall support her as Spike pushed his knee between her thighs from behind. Warm water flowed over both their bodies, lending his an unaccustomed warmth. Remnants of shampoo and shower gel made their union almost frictionless as he slid long sensitive fingers inside her moving to the tempo of the ringing in her head. The electronic ringing that was getting louder. The ringing that should go away.

Buffy forced her eyes open and felt in the general direction of the sound until she came across Spike’s mobile on top of the bedside cabinet. She didn’t know how to switch off the alarm but decided pressing the biggest button was probably the best option. It sort of worked. The noise stopped and the writing on the centre of the display now said "Snooze". She pulled the phone close to her face and tried to make the numbers in the bottom left corner of the screen come into focus. 07:32. Joy.

She looked over at the inert form sharing her bed. The cool hard surface she had been pressing her cheek into was actually Spike’s chest. Her leg was still draped over his, his arm cradling her back. She raised herself up slightly on her elbow, smoothing wayward curls back from his forehead. She loved the feel of those soft white curls, but could easily understand why he insisted on gelling them into submission. She traced the lines of his face working her way down, until she ran her fingers again and again over those lips.

When she felt him move beneath her fingers she couldn’t wait any longer and she brushed her lips against his as softly as she could. The feather-light touch set off electric tingles in her own lips and apparently did the same for a certain person of the undead persuasion. As she pulled back, heavy-lashed lids slid slowly open revealing ultramarine depths.

"Morning, love." His voice was a sleepy purr.

She dipped her head to tease his lips once more before she replied. "Morning. Time to ring the other woman."

"Can think of things I’d rather be doin’." His gaze travelled over those parts of her body not hidden by the bed clothes. "…but they’ll wait."

That earned him a poke in the stomach. "Taking me for granted already, are we?"

He smirked despite himself. "Well, pet, if you can’t wait I better see if I can find the hands-free kit again."

"Pig."

"An’ don’t you—" Whatever Spike intended as his reply it was cut short by the insistent beeping noise of the phone again. Both of them fumbled amongst the rumpled bedding where Buffy had dropped it earlier. Spike found it first and soon managed to disable the snooze function. He held down the right key until the speed-dial kicked in and then passed the phone to Buffy.

"Best speak to Niblet before she thinks we’ve forgotten her."

Buffy took the phone, explaining to her sister that they had had a busier night than anticipated and hadn’t been able to get home that morning as planned, but that they would make it home some time that evening if there were no further emergencies. Wisely she refused to go into detail about the previous night’s happenings until they got back. She then passed the phone to Spike.

Spike made sure everything was okay in Sunnydale, gave Dawn the number of the motel and their room number in case she needed to get in touch for any reason and asked what sort of take-out she wanted for dinner when they got back. By the time the two hung up, Buffy was curled up asleep with her head on his chest once more. Spike stretched to put the phone back on the bedside table without waking her and closed his own eyes, listening to the sound of her breathing, till he too fell asleep.

Wednesday Late morning

It was after eleven before Buffy woke again. Spike still slept peacefully and she decided not to wake him until it was absolutely necessary. She tip-toed around as she got dressed, finally scribbling a note to say that she’d taken his phone and the room keys and she’d gone to the diner across the road for brunch. She would be back in about half an hour or so. She left the note on her pillow where he couldn’t miss it if he happened to wake up.

Once she was safely settled in the booth, coffee in front of her and her order taken she pulled the phone out of her pocket. She searched the memory for the number and dialled.

"Angel In—" Cordy’s voice answered after two rings.

"Cordelia? It’s Buffy, you don’t need the spiel."

"Hi, Buffy. That was quite the little show last night. Guess you’re finally over Angel."

"Yeah, and it only took three years… I was just ringing to see if there was any progress on the Stephen front." Buffy changed the subject.

"Hey, yeah. You could have warned me about the little bombshell you dropped on Angel before you left."

"I kinda did… I told you he was all broody. Besides, I got distracted. You should know the feeling with that man of yours hanging round." Buffy wasn’t averse to dropping hints that might make the former Scooby think through what she was feeling.

"Yeah, well, ya coulda stuck around to help with the mess you left instead of high-tailing it back to your motel."

"We could’ve stayed, but we couldn’t have helped. You’re the one Angel talks to now when he needs someone. Stephen won’t trust Spike because he’s a vampire and having seen the two of us together, the claim mark and me fighting I’m not entirely sure he believes I’m human either. It didn’t really seem the time for the "In every generation" speech, so we left him to think about things. And Angel’s lucky that Spike chose to get involved or he’d probably have never seen the kid again. And if you tell him that I’ll get lynched …so anyway what’s happening?"

"Well, Fred and Gunn found him at the motel, probably not long after you two left. He wouldn’t tell them what had happened, but eventually he decided he wanted to bury him. So they took him out into the country in Gunn’s truck, but he wouldn’t let them get Angel to help. He said it wouldn’t be fitting if the demon who killed Holtz’ family had any part in his burial."

"Whoa, back up, what do you mean Angel killed his family?"

"Holtz was like the real-life van Helsing of the 1700’s. This irritated our guy Angelus a bit so he and Darla lured Holtz away and killed his wife and baby and turned his daughter, so that Holtz probably had to stake her or whatever himself. From what we can gather Holtz then makes some sort of deal with some time-travelling demon and ends up in the twenty-first century just in time for Connor’s birth."

"Mmm, guess the kid had a valid point then," Buffy added.

"Anyway he showed up about an hour ago here and Angel gave him some letter the old guy gave him last night, saying he thought it was better for Stephen to be with his father, Angel I mean. He said he was going to leave, I guess he meant something a bit more permanent than anyone thought."

"So Stephen’s still there?"

"Yeah, he’s home now. The reception area looks more like a playground, with him and Angel and Fred and Gunn playing stake the vampire."

"So are you left manning the store?"

"Sort of."

"Well, look the thing is this. I’ve got to go to the bank and pick up some money for Spike, but after that I’ve got nothing to do but shop… sort of wedding type shop. I mean Dawn would kill me if I picked the dresses without her, and it’s not like we were ever really shopping buddies before, but I thought I might start narrowing down the options a bit and I need a second opinion. And Spike wanted to give you some money to get some clothes for Stephen as well, sort of however many years of birthday presents… assuming Angel won’t mind."

"Tough luck if he does. Connor needs more clothes and I don’t think Angel’s got a clue how much it’s going to cost to get him a whole wardrobe. All birthday presents gratefully accepted by me if not them." Cordy displayed a typical practicality.

"Is it okay if I get Spike to drop me off at the hotel and we take your car, if you have one? I can feel the worry flowing out of Spike when I even suggest driving his, of course the fact you can’t see out through the windshield and I haven’t passed my test yet might be factors."

"I’ll get the keys for the mid-life crisis mobile. It’s got more trunk space. There’s parking round the back in the shade."

"Okay. I’ll give you a ring when I get through at the bank and let you know we’re on our way."

Buffy opened their room door as quietly as she could and then berated herself for sneaking around when she was just going to get him up anyway. She decided the view was worth it. Spike had obviously woken up and read the note and then fallen asleep again. He lay face down across the middle of the mattress, his cheek resting on his right forearm. His left hand held her note as if it were something precious he wouldn’t let go of even in sleep. His curls were rumpled and he’d kicked the sheet down so far that half his perfectly rounded ass was showing. She couldn’t resist. Placing the cup and paper bag she was carrying on the bedside table she crawled onto the bed and sank her teeth into the nearest smooth white globe.

"Ow, ya—" His cry of surprise and pain was rapidly replaced by a rumbling growl of satisfaction. She loosened her grip and moved up the bed leaning over him to kiss the hollow below his chiselled cheekbone.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she almost whispered in his ear.

He rolled over onto his back, his arms reaching up to pull her down on top of him. "Morning, woman mine." He held her in a loose grip and she could easily have pulled away. Instead she melted against him.

"I brought you some human type breakfast, to go with what’s in the fridge. Thought I’d indulge your cannibalistic tendencies."

"Very funny, pet. It doesn’t take a vampire’s sense of smell to work out whatever’s in that bag involves some sort of bacon product."

"Mn-hn, bacon sandwich, extra crispy with optional sachet of tomato ketchup and a large coffee, but you have to get up… And before you say it I can tell certain parts of you already are, but I need you to drive me wherever I need to go for this money and then to my bank and then drop me off at the hotel so I can go shopping with Cordelia."

"But it would be such a waste having the room all to ourselves if we didn’t make full use of it." Spike waggled his eyebrow at her.

"Here’s the deal then. If you’re ready to go in fifteen minutes, I’ll make sure the trip includes some lingerie shopping and at least one set won’t be for the trousseau, it’ll be for this afternoon before we go home."

"Still leaves time for a quickie, love. I can always stick breakfast in the microwave when I get back."

"You’re incorrigible,"

"I’ll take that as a yes, shall I?" It was only then as he looked down to see what trousers she was wearing that he noticed she wasn’t wearing trousers at all. She was wearing a skirt and not just any skirt but a long black leather wraparound that he was more than familiar with. He felt himself hardening even further, so much so that the sensation became painful.

"God, pet. You didn’t think you could wear that skirt and get out without getting molested, did you?"

He sat up and pulled her so that she sat sideways between his knees, her legs over his left, his right arm supporting her back. "Let’s see if we can do this right this time, love." His hand slid up under her skirt, pulling open the snaps on the teddy she wore and teasing apart her damp folds. "I think your cue is "Stop,"." Buffy was still wet and her muscles relaxed from their activities the previous night and her dream this morning and he easily slid two fingers inside her, gently preparing her.

He slipped a third finger inside and Buffy gasped leaning back more against his other arm.

"Don’t stop," she cried breathlessly.

"You couldn’t make me." He replied. She twisted her upper body, her arms encircling his neck they attacked each other’s mouths in a frenzy. Drowning in his kisses, his hand still moving inside her, Buffy wasn’t sure if she was playing the scenario or trying to resurrect the last vestiges of coherent thought. She pulled back away from him.

"I have to go, Cor—"

"Stay. I’m stuck here. Sun’s up." Spike replayed his part perfectly.

Once more Buffy’s arms fastened around his neck, and their lips met with a fierce passion. Underneath her skirt he pulled his fingers from her hot wet core for long enough to lift her over his right leg and lay her on her back beside him on the bed. They never broke the kiss as he positioned her and twisted to lie above her in one fluid move.

Finally, he eased back to let her get some air. Letting all his emotion show in his eyes he looked down at her as he spoke.

"I knew the only thing better than being with you like this would be hearing you say you love me."

"I love you," she replied as she stared straight back into his neon blue eyes. She lifted her head to whisper in his ear "and if you fuck me right now I’ll tell you over and over till I can’t speak any more." She brought her knees up and outward, letting her skirt drape into folds around her waist.

"Oh, God, I love you so much." Spike replied before he drove into her so hard she gave a small grunt as the air was forced from her lungs. As soon as she drew a fresh breath she made eye contact and told him the words he wanted to hear. "I love you…… I love you…… I love you….. I love you….. I love you…. I love you…. I love you… I love you… I love you.. I love you.. I love you. I love you." She chanted the words in time to their movements, her hips rising clear of the mattress to meet his, each repetition increasingly breathless.

There was nothing else in the world except the man looking down into her eyes with such open adoration and the feel of his body around and inside hers. She had never felt so desirable as she did when he looked at her. Sooner than she would ever have thought possible she felt the first tremors of her oncoming climax.

"Will…" she gasped out.

"I know, baby, I can feel it."

He changed the angle of his hips slightly so that he ground more firmly against her at the end of every stroke. Three more thrusts and she felt that sudden release she’d been waiting for.

"Oh God, I love you!" she screamed loud enough for the people three rooms up on either side to hear.

Her cry as much as the feel of her muscles involuntary movements around him brought Spike crashing after.

He held her close as he rolled them over onto their sides. "How long have we got left out of that fifteen minutes?" he asked.

"Who cares? Just hold me," she answered, wriggling in his arms to get as close as possible to him. She could feel that he was still hard inside her and she knew if they didn’t have places to be they would have spent the whole afternoon and probably longer, in bed, on the floor, up against the walls, in the shower and probably every other vertical or horizontal surface in the room.

Buffy smiled against his neck. He stroked her hair until she looked up and then raised his eyebrow.

"Just thinking… If I’d done something like that with Riley, I’d probably have spent most of the time getting myself off to get ready and the rest just waiting for him to finish.

With you, sex is like chocolate. It doesn’t matter when I last had some or how much I had, I always want more."

"Does that mean you’re making time for another round?"

"No, ‘cause even if I did I’d still want thirds and fourths and fifths." She lay there with him for another couple of minutes before she forced herself to pull away. Picking up a pair of his jeans from the case she threw them at him. "You’ve got five minutes."

He pulled on his clothes and lit a cigarette in less than three. "You got a pen and some paper, love?" Buffy pulled out the notebook she had brought with her from her purse, passing it to him. She remembered the note she left him that morning, rescuing it from the bed. She was about to crumple it up and throw it in the bin when he moved at speed to pull it from her hand, thrusting it into his coat pocket. She was going to ask why he wanted to keep such a pointless note but then she remembered how she’d finished it, and started it: "Dearest Will, …I love you. B. x"

Spike went on with his own note making, writing down the details of the wire transfer which he’d arranged to be sent to a branch of her bank this time. On a second sheet he wrote "Password: DIANTHUS BARBATUS". Then an allocation of how to split the money.

"Cordy - say $1,000 tell her to buy herself something for her trouble from that.

- Must buy decent pair of boots e.g.DM’s, Para Boots, New Rocks.

Me - $5,000 to cover PC as well as general expenses and stuff for flat.

Buffy Current - Enough for at least one month comfortable living expenses. (At least 2x DMP)

- Bring all bills up to date.

Buffy Wedding - Remainder."

"What’s with the Diana Barbie Latin thing?" Buffy asked.

"You need a password to pick up the money. That would be it."

"You expect me to remember that?"

"To be honest, I expected you to pass over the bit of paper with it written on," Spike tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. He handed Buffy both sheets of paper and held the room door open for her.

"But what does it mean?" Buffy walked out to the car.

"You’re back-to-college girl. Look it up." Spike slid into the driver’s seat and reached across to unlock the passenger door.

Buffy had considered holding Spike’s money ransom until he told her what he made her say to the bank teller. Since she actually transferred a total of twenty-nine thousand to her two accounts she thought that might be just a little petty. Why wouldn’t he tell her anyway? Maybe she just offered the teller anal sex for all she knew. That would be so Spike. Instead she just went back to the car and passed him the larger of the two envelopes the nice people at the bank had been kind enough to provide.

"Still not going to tell me whether I should be made to wash my mouth out with soap and water?" she asked him.

"No. I could suggest some different mouthwash though." Spike leered.

"Pig. You are so-o… I mean, one-track mind or what? I bet it is something rude."

Spike just smirked.

"I could ring Wesley. He would know." Buffy pouted.

"Yeah," Spike conceded, smirk still in place. "He might be into that sort of thing, but do you really want to ask him?"

"You are Evil."

"I’m your Big Bad, cutie," he confirmed.

"I’m going to find out what it is," she insisted. "And did you just say you were my Big Bad Cutie?"

"I know and no-o, I didn’t. I called you cutie."

"I prefer my version. But you’re going to make me suffer?"

Spike gave up and just shrugged his shoulders. "Weren’t you supposed to ring and warn the cheerleader you were coming?"

"Yeah, but this so isn’t over." Buffy again took possession of Spike’s cell-phone and rang to let Cordelia know that they were on their way.

"She says to go round the back of the hotel. She’ll be waiting and it’s shady."

"If it means seeing the princess for five minutes without having to see the Great Poof’s ugly mug, then it suits me," answered Spike.

"You like Cordelia?" Buffy asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean, we’ve barely met, but she’s straight. Says what she thinks, bit like demon-girl, and until she did whatever she’s done to her hair, kinda easy on the eyes too. What’s not to like?"

"The extreme bitchiness, even if she wasn’t as bad once she started dating Xander."

"Don’t think what she thinks is any worse than what most everybody else does, she just doesn’t bother hiding it s’all. At least you know where you stand," Spike argued. "I mean, take Red. I know when Harris starts a round of kick the Spike, she won’t do anything to stop him. Whether it’s because she agrees with him and is just letting him do the dirty work or whether she doesn’t agree but isn’t prepared to go against her buddy, I don’t know. Five minutes alone with the Princess and I’ll know exactly where I stand."

"That all made a strange kind of sense, I think," Buffy conceded.

"No need to sound so surprised, love." Spike smirked as he slid her a sideways glance through his thick eyelashes. "’Sides, heard she dumped Harris."

"And all is revealed."

Chapter 3.04

"Hey, guys," Cordy greeted the pair as they got out of the car, or in Spike’s case mostly got out. He stood with one forearm resting on the roof of the car and the other resting along the top of the driver’s door, his right foot on the bottom of the doorframe.

"Back at you, princess," Spike replied. "So the kid found his own way home?"

"Yeah, getting’ in the quality time with his dad as we speak," Cordy replied.

"Hey," Buffy added as she walked around the front of the car to say her goodbyes to Spike.

"Hope it works out for him," the vampire added.

"Yeah, and why would that be?" the seer asked.

Spike shrugged. "He’s family."

"Angel’s family but that didn’t stop you torturing him last time you were in town." Cordy answered. Buffy slid her arms around Spike’s waist from behind, his own hands dropping to cover them.

"Yeah, honey, and if I’d kept it up for a few more years then we might be running somewhere near even. That wasn’t about us anyway. It was all about the ring."

"So you’re not harbouring any grudges against Angel?" Cordy checked.

Spike gave Cordy a quizzical look. "I’m harbouring a whole fleet of grudges. Not plannin’ on actin’ on any of them though, unless he tries to get between me and Buffy."

"Close enough. So you plan on playing Uncle Spike?"

"Since you’re playin’ mommy, why don’t you tell me whether I’ll get the chance."

"I’ve got no objection. Not sure I can say the same about Angel," Cordy admitted.

Spike smirked. "I think where the kid’s concerned he’ll realise, sooner or later, it’s best to go along with what you think. We’ll give Junior a chance to settle in though before I stick my oar in any more."

"Are you two done now?" Buffy interrupted the others.

"Just about," Spike answered. "Tell Uncle Stephen I said ‘Hi’ when you see him, princess." Spike turned his back to where Cordy sat waiting in Angel’s convertible, to take Buffy in his arms for a steamy kiss.

"Hey," Buffy hissed, when they finally parted. "Some consideration for the audience."

"All she could see was the back of my head. Now, go, spend, enjoy yourself… And if any of the bridal places have catalogues with the menswear in bring a copy back."

"You mean you’re not planning to get married in your jeans and duster?" Buffy retorted.

"Haven’t come to a final decision yet." He drew her into another kiss, lightly brushing the unmarked side of her neck with the back of his index finger as he did so. The touch caused her flesh to tingle, but more importantly was a reminder of what he could do by touching the other side of her neck. "Later, love," his farewell words were a seductive promise.

"Later," she confirmed, as she backed reluctantly away from him.

"So tell me, how on the hellmouth did you end up engaged to Spike of all people?" Cordy asked the slayer as they drove away from the Hyperion.

"This time or the time before?" said Buffy with a smirk.

Spike headed back to the motel to be met as soon as he got out of the car by an irate manager, who had come in search of the pair when they failed to check out that morning. It said a lot about Spike’s mood that he managed to make an apology instead of vamping out at the man. That and the fact he could see himself having to bring both Summers girls up to LA for weekend shopping at least a couple of times between now and the wedding. It would be useful if they weren’t barred from the place.

"Sorry, mate, we didn’t get in till really late last night so we decided to stay until this evening. I thought the girlfriend would’ve taken care of it when she went to the diner for breakfast. Get yourself a drink for your trouble." Spike gave the man an extra ten bucks over the cost of the room.

He tipped the coffee down the drain, knowing even if he reheated it in the microwave it would have a bitter taste. Instead, he put the bacon sandwich and a packet of blood from the fridge in together and rinsed out the coffee cup to hold his alternative beverage when it was ready.

As he munched into his sandwich and washed it down with some O+ he debated what he should do with the remainder of the day. If he hadn’t given his phone to Buffy he might have tried ringing Giles to see if he had made any progress on his research. He could ring the other watcher, maybe go for a drink, but in an unfamiliar city the effort he’d expend trying to avoid sunlight would probably be more than it was worth. If the slayer came back early, though he suspected the prospects of that were doubtful, he intended to be here to take advantage of the fact. Thanks to Buffy’s efforts to pack for him he didn’t even have a book to read. He dropped the coffee cup and the bag the sandwich came in into the bin and flopped onto the bed, picking up the TV remote.

He could feel himself dropping off before he even got as far as finding a program he wanted to watch. ‘Maybe just as well,’ he thought as he hugged Buffy’s pillow to his chest. ‘Been burnin’ the candle at both ends. Chances are you won’t be able to sleep without her tonight either. At least this bed smells of her.’ Five minutes later he was sound asleep.

Wednesday Late afternoon

Buffy came back with a handful of carrier bags one of which held a selection of boxes, which in turn held silk and satin undergarments wrapped in layers of tissue paper. Buffy couldn’t remember when she had last been able to splash out on clothes shopping without worrying about how much she was spending, but she knew it was probably before her parents’ divorce.

She hadn’t actually bought anything for the wedding as such, although one carrier bag was entirely filled with magazines with the words "Bride" or "Wedding" in their titles. Most of the other bags she’d brought were full of clothes for Dawn. Lately, Buffy had felt guilty about her inability to cover non-essentials like clothing. She knew when she’d been Dawn’s age she’d had a new outfit at least every couple of weeks whereas Dawn got to wear the same stuff over and over.

She fumbled with the door handle, hoping the room wasn’t locked, because if the vampire was asleep in there with their only room key she didn’t think she had much chance of waking him. Fortunately, he’d left the door open. Even more fortunately, he wasn’t asleep. Instead the sound of running water could be heard coming from the direction of the shower along with the sound of singing. "…Call her up on the telephone, Invite her over ‘cause I’m all alone…"

‘Okay, model lingerie or join naked, soapy Spike in the shower? Duh!’thought Buffy, stripping as quickly as possible and hoping he wouldn’t be finished before she got there. Her clothes formed a trail from the room door through to the shower cubicle. She slid the door to one side, stepping in behind the suddenly silent vamp. "Ramones?" she asked taking the soapy puff from his hands.

"Undertones, got the last four letters right, love. It’s a start."

She moved the puff over his back and bottom before reaching round him to lather his chest and stomach. Her breasts were pressed flat against his back, sliding against him as she washed his muscles in ever descending circles. Before she reached her ultimate objective he turned in her arms, passing her the bottle of citrus shower gel. She squirted some more on the puff which had been rinsed as she was washing his stomach, working it into a lather before she passed the bottle back to him. She wanted to kneel at his feet to wash his legs, planning to leave his dick till last, and it seemed like he could read her mind as she looked down.

"There’s not enough space. Just do as far down as you can reach standing up, pet." She followed his advice washing his hips and thighs. She squeezed as much lather as she could from the puff onto her hands using them to stroke slowly up and down his thick, long, slippery shaft. His skin there was always amazingly smooth and soft and the slickness of the lather merely emphasised the effect.

"I dreamt about being in here with you," she admitted.

"Was it a good dream?" he queried.

"Until the alarm went off."

Spike smiled remembering that the first thing he’d noticed on awakening that morning was the scent of her arousal. "Were you dreaming about last night or were we trying something different?"

"We didn’t get very far, but I got the impression …we were going to …do the thing I’ve only done with you. I was standing on the rim above the shower tray facing the wall. You used your knee to get me to spread my legs and you were just using your fingers to make me all soapy, ready for you."

Spike was surprised. It had taken a great deal of persuasion that first night they spent together before Buffy had allowed him to take her second virginity. After a slow gentle introduction her response had been enthusiastic, but though they had tried it several times since, it had always been at his instigation. He was quite convinced that when she had called that night the most perverse and degrading night of her life that those images had been foremost in her mind. Now she was all but asking for it outright.

"Is that what you want? You want me to make your dream come true, love?" Spike asked in a husky whisper, giving her the opportunity to back out. She didn’t speak; instead she gave the barest of nods and kissed him tenderly before she moved to stand facing the wall as she had in her dream. Spike leant against her back pressing her between his body and the cool white tiles, helping her keep her balance on the narrow ledge she was standing on. He poured shower gel into the palm of his hand working it into a lather over as much of her flesh as he could reach. As he moved against her she could feel his erection rubbing against the cleft of her ass. Almost involuntarily, she rocked her hips back against him until the pair were moving against each other in a primal rhythm. Spike slid his knee between her thighs so that as she moved she ground against him.

Buffy moaned as she pressed hard against his firm leg muscles, tensing momentarily when she felt a slender soapy finger push inside her. Spike slid his finger back and forth in time with her movements, making circling motions at the same time to ease her open. After a minute or so he inserted a second finger and finally a third. Several thrusts later he spread the fingers inside her as wide as he could, filling the space between them with gel. Buffy gasped as the cool fluid touched her inner walls.

"Please, Will." At her prompting, he pulled out his fingers and making sure his dick was still well lathered he pushed home a fraction of an inch at a time, pausing frequently to let her muscles adjust to his girth. Gradually he built up from small rocking motions until he was pounding into her, pinning her against the cool tile at the end of every thrust. The gel was soon warmed by their friction and Spike felt like he was drowning in her heat.

His hands glided round to her front, the thumb of his left hand made lazy circles around her clit, his right hand holding each breast in turn, teasing her nipples till she moaned. Her knees failed to support her and she stayed upright only because she was trapped between Spike and the wall. He nibbled at her shoulders with blunt teeth, blowing on the damp skin at her neck. When his breath touched her claim marks her orgasm hit her like a tidal wave. Her back arched convulsively and she screamed his name. A few seconds later Spike shuddered to his climax, bracing his arms against the side walls of the cubicle so that they didn’t collapse in an undignified heap.

It was several minutes later before the couple managed to disentangle their limbs and regain upright positions.

"You okay, love?" Spike asked as he helped her to her feet.

"More than okay." She wrapped her arms around his waist resting her cheek against his shoulder. He placed a kiss on top of her head.

"Want me to wash your hair while you’re here or should I just leave and give you some space?" the vampire asked.

"You lured me in here with your naked soapy body. It’s only fair if you stay." Buffy responded.

"Didn’t realise I was that much of an attraction."

"Ha! Less fishing for compliments. More scalp massage, Vamp Boy."

"As you wish, princess," Spike replied. "As you wish."

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